共 (gòng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

共

gòng[gong4]Tone 4

common, together, to share

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · common, together, to share

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The top horizontal elements should be balanced over the lower two enclosing strokes (the parallel slants and bottom horizontal line), keeping the center of gravity stable.

1. Meaning

together, to share, common

generaltotalaltogetherabbreviation for Communist Party

Adverb / VerbNeutral#society#cooperation#quantity

Sample Usage

我们共同努力。
Wǒmen gòngtóng nǔlì.
We make joint efforts together.
总共多少钱？
Zǒnggòng duōshǎo qián?
How much is the total?

2. Sound

/[kʊŋ⁵¹]/Tone: 51

共

gònggong4

`(51)

=gòng

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: g sound as in go

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raised against the soft palate

Final Rhyme

ong

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, similar to a sharp command in English like 'Stop!'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 4th tone falling pitch (gòng) with the 1st tone high level (gōng) or 2nd tone rising (góng).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp downward chop with the hand, mirroring a firm 'No!' or a descending staircase.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top horizontal elements should be balanced over the lower two enclosing strokes (the parallel slants and bottom horizontal line), keeping the center of gravity stable.

4. Components

Radical 八 · Eight Radical (eight, dividing)

Originally depicted hands joining together under a cover, represented by structural hands and objects coming into alignment.

二十 twenty or joined horizontal lines symbolizing union
八 base structure representing parting or joining hands

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

14· Phonetic Root: 共 (gòng)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Oracle bone scripts show multiple hands working together or lifting an object jointly, illustrating the concept of cooperation and sharing.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of hands holding something together, it evolved to mean 'together', 'shared', and 'common' among people.

Extensively used in modern political terminology as an abbreviation for Communist (共产).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キョウ / Kun: とも

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

공

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Two hands and ten fingers working together to lift a heavy load 'altogether' (gòng).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

哄

hǒngto roar, to foolAdd mouth radical (口) on the left for shouting or fooling.

供

gōngto supply, to confessAdd person radical (亻) on the left for supplying provisions.

拱

gǒngto arch, to fold handsAdd hand radical (扌) on the left for folding hands in salute.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

黄(huáng)

黄 has the grass/field top and fields inside, meaning 'yellow', whereas 共 has top horizontal strokes for joining hands.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们有[___]的兴趣。

Clue: gòng tóng

Common Learner Pitfall

Mistaking tone 4 (gòng) for tone 1 (gōng) when speaking quickly, or confusing it with similar-looking characters like 黄.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 共, what does it mean and how is it pronounced with tone 4?

Production: How do you write the character for 'together' or 'common' (gòng) in 6 strokes?

共gòngcommon, together, to share

Speed:

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